The Symmetrical Defense (or Austrian Defense) is a

chess opening The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...

that begins with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 c5 First described in print by

Alessandro Salvio Alessandro Salvio (c. 1575 – c. 1640) was a leading Italian chess player in the early 17th century. He started a chess academy in Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of I ...

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, the opening is often called the Austrian Defense because it was studied by

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n chess players including Hans Haberditz (c. 1901–57), Hans Müller (1896–1971), and GM

Ernst Grünfeld ---- Ernst Franz Grünfeld (November 21, 1893 – April 3, 1962) was an Austrian chess player and writer, mainly on chess opening, opening Chess theory, theory. He was among the inaugural recipients of the Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster t ...

. The Symmetrical Defense is an uncommon variation of the

Queen's Gambit Declined The Queen's Gambit Declined (or QGD) is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 This is known as the ''Orthodox Line'' of the Queen's Gambit Declined. When the "Queen's Gambi ...

. It poses the purest test of

Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a '' gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the ...

theory—whether Black can equalize by simply copying White's moves. Most opening theoreticians believe that White should gain the advantage and at best Black is playing for a

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn most commonly refer to: * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes * Draw ...

. Grandmaster

Hikaru Nakamura Christopher Hikaru Nakamuraworld champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

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in the

Champions Chess Tour 2023 The Champions Chess Tour (CCT) 2023 was a fast chess tournament circuit that was organized in 2023 by Chess.com. The tour started on 6 February 2023 and ended on 16 December 2023. It involved six online chess tournaments and an over-the-board fin ...

finals and beat reining world champion

Ding Liren Ding Liren ( zh, c=丁立人; born 24October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster who was the 17th World Chess Champion from 2023–24. He is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion, was a member of the Chinese chess teams that won the Chess ...

Norway Chess Norway Chess is an annual closed chess tournament, typically taking place in the May to June time period every year. The first edition took place in the Stavanger area, Norway, from 7 May to 18 May 2013. The 2013 tournament had ten participants, in ...

2024. He employed a similar opening in the

Candidates Tournament 2024 The 2024 Candidates Tournament was an eight-player chess tournament, held to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2024. The tournament took place at The Great Hall in Toronto, Canada, from April 3–22, 2024. The event was ...

, beating

R Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (born 10 August 2005) is an Indian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, Praggnanandhaa placed second in the 2023 Chess World Cup, and is the only Indian to win the Tata Steel Chess Tournament after Viswanathan Anand. H ...

with the black pieces in a game beginning with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c5. Nakamura defeated Luca Moroni and drew against

Bogdan-Daniel Deac Bogdan-Daniel Deac (born 8 October 2001) is a Romanian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 14 years, 7 months and 27 days. Deac crossed the 2700 barrier for the first time in September 2022, when he r ...

with the opening in the 2024 World Rapid Chess Championship.

3.cxd5

White often replies 3.cxd5, but other moves are playable and may lead to transpositions into more well-known variations such as the

Queen's Gambit Accepted The Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA) is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 dxc4 The Queen's Gambit Accepted is the third most popular option on Black's second move, after 2...e6 (the Queen's Gambit Declined) and 2.. ...

and the Tarrasch Defense. After 3.cxd5 it is not advisable for Black to play 3...Qxd5, because either 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nc3 Qa5 6.Nxd4 or 5...Qd8 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 give White a big lead in development. Instead, Black should play 3...Nf6 intending to recapture on d5 with his knight. White should be able to maintain the advantage with either 4.Nf3 or 4.e4. Possible continuations are 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd5 6.e4 Nc7 or 4.e4 Nxe4 5.dxc5 Nxc5 6.Nc3 e6.{{citation , last1=Kasparov , first1=Garry , author1-link=Garry Kasparov , last2=Keene , first2=Raymond , author2-link=Raymond Keene , title=Batsford Chess Openings 2 , orig-date=1989, year=1994 , publisher=Henry Holt , isbn=0-8050-3409-9 , chapter=Queen's Gambit , page=80

References

Chess openings 17th century in chess